


Sunset in New Mexico

by Farashe



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Sunsets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-02
Updated: 2015-06-02
Packaged: 2018-04-02 14:39:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4063717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Farashe/pseuds/Farashe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is for a prompt on tumblr of Shepard and Thane both alive after ME3 and being happy together. I like to think about them being happy and alive in some alternate universe ^_^</p>
<p>Thane visits New Mexico again, this time with Shepard, and they watch a sunset together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sunset in New Mexico

Shepard had never thought of “mountains” and “desert” together before. She wasn’t sure why the notion hadn’t occurred to her after all the alien climes she’d seen, but the word desert had still conjured images of barren sand dunes and maybe the occasional cactus in her mind. Instead she sat on a rocky outcropping looking over a canyon full of tall ponderosa pines. The butterscotch scent of their bark wafted through the warm air.

But it wasn’t the trees that held her attention. A fiery sunset blazed to the west. Reds and oranges and golds lit up the clouds accompanied by more delicate pinks and purples. To top it all off the mountain range to the east of her current position glowed red with light reflected from the sinking sun. She glanced at the map on her omnitool; the mountains were called the Sangre de Cristos, a very appropriate name.

“Is this like the sunset you saw before? The one you mentioned in your vid message?” she asked, breaking the silence.

Thane slipped an arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him. It felt so good to feel him there especially the subtle movement as he breathed in and out.

“This one is even more spectacular,” he answered.

They watched the sun sink the rest of the way below that horizon in silence. Without the sun’s heat, the temperature dropped quickly until goosebumps formed on Shepard’s skin. She shivered. Thane pulled her closer and began rubbing his hand up and down her arm.

“Would you like to head back to the campsite?” he asked.

She turned her head to look at him, and smiled at affection she saw in his eyes. She never got used to the way he looked at her; there was both love and respect there. On a sudden impulse she kissed him, long and slow.

“Thank you,” she said when she finally broke the kiss.

Thane pressed his forehead to hers. “For what, Siha?”

“For you.” She closed her eyes and just drank in the peace of the moment. It was a peace she would never have guessed she would feel, not with all the death and destruction and tragedy that had surrounded her life. But here she was, in this miraculous moment, alive, and Thane was alive too. It was perfect.

She shivered again and opened her eyes. She gave Thane a resigned smile. “I don’t want to, but we should head back, I suppose.” She looked at the darkening horizon for a moment longer. “We’ll watch the sunset again tomorrow, though?”

“Of course.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> I actually grew up in New Mexico so I've been wanting to write something Thane/Shepard related that takes place there for a while. The prompt from tumblr gave me the perfect excuse!
> 
> For those who don't know any Spanish, "Sangre de Cristo" translates to "Blood of Christ".


End file.
